The surrounding ice began to gather around Gladys, quickly forming into a swirling blizzard as she continued her chant.
"Duncan... will the barrier hold?" Rex asked, sensing the massive amount of mana being drawn toward her.
"No, it won't." The answer was clear and decisive, but it didn't co from Duncan.
Rex's back straightened as he turned to the source of the voice. "C-Commander Zaman!"
The Commander gave only a brief nod of acknowledgnt as he placed a hand on Duncan's shoulder.
"On my signal, open a two foot wide gap in the barrier for exactly a quarter of a second. Can you do that?"
Duncan was stunned at first but nodded with so hesitation. "A quarter of a second? I can... but didn't the Princess want us to stand back?"
"And we will. But it never hurts to be cautious. If Her Highness can't resolve this in ti, I'll step in to interrupt the spell before she completes it."
Zaman had already done the calculations. 'The ti it'll take her to finish that chant is 38 seconds. If her law technique allows her to recast an advanced spell with no downti and multiply it on top of that, it ans once she gets that first cast out, there's no stopping her.'
And while the spell would demand a massive amount of mana, enough that she would only be able to cast it five tis consecutively, that still equated to thirty one casts. More than enough to cause untold amounts of destruction.
As much as he wanted to believe in Princess Valerie, Zaman had to be practical. He had to plan for the slim chance she failed.
Valerie, for her part, didn't seem worried. Even as countless icicles crashed against the Knight shielding her, her expression remained calm, and if anything, a little disappointed.
"So this is your plan... Not just to kill , but everyone here. Honestly, I expected more from soone as conniving as you."
Gladys' eyes twitched at the accusation, but she couldn't respond, putting most of her focus in her chant.
'Like I have many options left! Just you wait, brat! Once I kill everyone here, I'll beco the queen I was ant to be!'
She had already lost the trust of everyone in this chamber, and even if she defeated Valerie, it wouldn't make her queen. It was more likely that they would still kill her for her actions. But if everyone in this room perished... then maybe, just maybe, there was still a path forward. She knew it wasn't a great plan, which made Valerie's words sting all the more, but it was all she had left.
Valerie could see it in her aunt's face. She was right on the mark. With a small shake of her head, she muttered, "I see. I was waiting to see if you had any real tricks left. But if that's the case, then I have no reason to hold back."
Valerie raised her hand, magic beginning to hum faintly around her. The air warped ever so slightly with each word she spoke, resonating with an authority she didn't carry before.
"I call upon the master of all elents, the unraveler of the secrets of magic and revealer of truth, co forth, [Sage]!"
A new figure erged, and even amidst the ongoing storm, all eyes turned toward it.
Unlike the other avatars, this one did not walk, it floated. It was clad in a massive, flowing robe that shimred like stars in the night sky, trailing behind it as if underwater. A towering, pointed hat rested atop its tallic head, and from both its shoulders hovered orbs, each one radiating a different elental force: fire, water, lightning, wind, light, dark.
From outside the barrier, Duncan's expression shifted from tense focus to stunned awe. "I've never seen that summon before... could she have..."
Commander Zaman gave a quiet, approving nod. "Yes. She is officially an A-Ranker."
Valerie's summoning skill had ascended and beco the law technique [Heroic Summoning], allowing her to summon higher concepts that were known only in stories and legends. In simpler terms, they were heroes.
"So soon?" Duncan couldn't believe it. From what Sol told him, she began her pursuit of comprehending a law technique around the sa ti as himself. He even believed himself to be ahead of the curve with his years of experience but this just showed him he couldn't have been more wrong.
The mont the avatar of the Sage fully manifested, it sprang to action.
"[Vacuum]." It spoke, its voice resonating like the clang of tal echoing through a cavern.
The wind elent orb glowed, and in an instant, the air around Gladys violently twisted outward, creating a do devoid of oxygen. Gladys' eyes widened as she gasped for air and her chanting ca to a pause.
But Gladys was no amateur. This wasn't the first ti soone tried to interrupt her chanting before.
Holding onto the last of her breath, she expelled a concentrated burst of mana, disrupting the do. Air rushed back in. She sucked in a breath, but there was no ti to recover.
Riding atop the Sage's back as it floated near the top of the barrier, Valerie gave her next command.
"[Ocean's Bounty]."
The water elent orb glowed, and a tidal wave erupted in mid air, cresting high before crashing down toward Gladys.
Gladys turned her relentless barrage of icicles toward the oncoming wave, but they shattered against the sheer mass of it like arrows against a mountain. Desperate, she cancelled her chant, pulling her magic inwards.
"[Ice Shelter]!"
An encasent of thick ice enveloped her just as the wave crashed down.
The explosion of water rocked the barrier, sending ripples of power throughout the arena. Water flooded the floor, and cracks began to spiderweb across the protective do.
Outside, Duncan grimaced, pouring more magic into maintaining it. "Just what is that avatar?! It's casting advanced spells effortlessly!"
Lapis answered without taking her eyes off the battlefield. "Compared to the Warrior or Mage, the Sage is created from a higher concept. When people hear the word Sage, they think of the ultimate wielder of magic, capable of bending all elents to their will. While it's not an accurate depiction... that doesn't matter."
She gestured toward the glowing orbs.
"That belief in its omnipotence over magic is what gives the Sage its power. It's not limited by elental affinity or spells, it's shaped by the ideal of what a Sage should be."
In other words, the Sage wasn't even casting real spells through precise mana channels or complex incantations. It was manipulating the elents as if they were extensions of itself. Spell nas were uttered not out of necessity, but to fulfill the expectation of how magic was supposed to work in the eyes of the general population.
Lazuli shot her sister a narrow eyed glance. "Did Sinara tell you that too?"
Lapis didn't answer and kept watching.
"Tch. Fine, keep your secrets. I'll find out eventually..." Lazuli muttered.
Back within the barrier, the water that flooded the field began to freeze. Cracks spidered across the surface as a deep rumble echoed through the frozen tide.
With a howl of cold air, Gladys erupted from beneath, her face twisted with fury.
"You bitch! [Freezing Twister]!"
Seven howling tornadoes of ice materialized and headed toward Valerie and the Sage.
Valerie didn't move. She raised her hand and spoke, calm and clear.
"Go, [Sword Saint]."
A silver line shimred through the air—and the tornadoes were bisected.
A figure erged from the cut, sleek and elegant, clad in light armor designed purely for mobility. A single longsword glead in its hand.
"Another?!" Gladys reeled back in surprise. Valerie had summoned it while she was busy turning the water to ice.
Before she could react, the Sword Saint vanished.
A spike of dread surged up her spine.
She turned, and there it was.
Behind her with its sword raised.
"[Ice Block]!"
A sheet of ice shot up between them.
But it was not enough.
The sword cleaved through the haphazardly cast spell, then through her.
A deep, clean gash opened across her chest, blood bursting forth.
Gladys collapsed, her breath ragged and shallow, eyes wide with panic as she tried to gather enough strength to cast a spell or to think of another way out of this situation, but nothing ca.
Valerie was lowered down by the Sage and stopped before her aunt's critically injured body.
"This is goodbye, Aunt Gladys."
The Sage raised its hand as it knew what to do.
"[Immolation]."
Flas erupted, engulfing Gladys' body in a searing blaze. The ice beneath her lted in an instant, and her form vanished into ash.
A silence fell over the arena.
Duncan lowered the barrier. A gust of air swept through, carrying with it the lingering heat, cold, and mana residue. So in the audience staggered slightly, overwheld by the pressure of the energies still hanging in the air.
None spoke.
They only watched as Valerie dismissed her avatars. One by one, the shining figures dissolved into glowing particles and vanished.
She stood on the edge of the frozen platform with her appearance as immaculate as she was before the fight.
She looked out over the stunned nobles, soldiers, and common folk watching.
Then, she spoke.
"Gladys has paid for her cris. But even in her twisted ambition for the crown... so of her words rang true."
Her voice carried across the silent chamber like a blade's edge.
"My father made mistakes. And those mistakes cost us dearly. I won't stand here and pretend I am above him. I won't promise I'll never make mistakes, or that I'm the best choice to lead."
She took a breath, letting her gaze drift to the horizon.
"I know, better than anyone, that it should have been my brother who stood here today instead of . But fate... chose differently."
She looked back, eyes eting those of every person willing to et them.
"What I can promise you is this: I will not walk this path alone. I don't seek the crown for glory. I seek it because soone must take responsibility. There is so much to repair. And I cannot do it without all of you."
She extended a hand, not with a regal wave, but a gesture of sincerity.
"So place your faith in , not as your ruler, but as your ally. Together, let us repair the damage of the past... and forge a future worth believing in."
There was silence.
Then movent.
A single noble stepped forward and knelt.
"I follow Her Majesty's will."
Another followed close after.
"The Noxfen house swear fealty to you, Your Majesty."
More followed and eventually the whole chamber was kneeling before her. They weren't kneeling before Her Highness or Princess Valerie, but to the 11th ruler of the Kingdom of Crestelia, Queen Valerie.
This was the start of a new era.
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